The Cardigan-sploitation of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4!

I recently attended Screamfest’s 30th Anniversary screening of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 at Hollywood’s famed Chinese Theatre, and to say it was amazing would be an understatement. The whole cast was there, director Renny Harlin and legendary producer Bob Shaye were both there, and a fun Q&A with everyone followed the film. Sitting in the moderately-sized – but PACKED – theatre, watching the film with the stars of the film – well, that’s just a dream come true for any horror fan.

It’s always fun watching a horror film you’ve only ever seen on VHS or DVD up on the big screen. You seem to notice things you never really took note of before. For example, in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, during the classroom scene where Freddy sucks all the air out of Toy Newkirk’s asthmatic little body, I always thought Robert Englund actually peeled the apple (which had been sitting on the desk) using a real bladed-glove. However, seeing it play out 50 feet wide, I was able to see that the apple was actually pre-peeled and simply stuck back together. It was a small thing, but my insides still went “whoa, cool.”

The other thing I noticed – and maybe this just comes from having seen the movie one hundred times – is the absurd amount of cardigans. I mean, everyone wears one at some point – even Alice’s drunken dad gets in on the action! While sitting there watching the film, I took a mental note of every cardigan I saw. I eventually stopped counting and just told myself to rewatch the DVD when I got home.

I took a screen grab of all the cardigans I spotted – which is to say, there could actually be more. I’ve posted them below.

Who knew, 30 years ago, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 would be creating a whole new genre: cardigan-sploitation?